Maj. Jack Davis, War Hero

Davis Field south of Muskogee is named for Major Jack C. Davis. This is his senior photograph from his annual. He was a fighter at heart. This character emerged following his graduation from Central High School in 1931.

After spending a year in junior college, Jack wanted to leave school. He found that the Great Depression dried up most employment opportunities. With few job openings available, he joined the United States Marine Corps and served four years.

Following his discharge he attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts briefly. His drawing below was published in the Phoenix on November 28th, 1943. It is a drawing of the British Beaufighter he flew.


War clouds were billowing in Europe. Jack re-entered the military by joining the US Army early in 1940. He chose to become a pilot and passed both entrance examinations. He then completed his primary flight training at Glendale, California. Next he received advance training at Randolph and Kelly Fields outside of San Antonio, Texas. During this period he came back to Muskogee and married Catherine Clonts on August 28th, 1940. He was 27 years old. Five weeks later he was commissioned at Kelly Field. He received further training in Orlando, Florida, at the Fighter Command School.

He sailed across the Atlantic for his first tour of combat in the summer of 1942. He was assigned to temporary duty with the British to fill the latter's shortage of pilots. Davis flew the twin-engine British Beaufort fighter. He nicknamed this fighter the "Muskogee Rebel" after his father's southern heritage and his home town. In his seven months of combat he shot down one German plane.

During this period he was in command of fighters who fought at night over England and the English Channel. The Germans attacked at night because they found daylight raids too costly in lost aircraft and crew. Captain Davis also escorted bombers to targets in France and Germany in daylight raids. He served with the British, while still in the American 8th Air Force, from September, 1942 through the following March.

He was promoted to Major on April 1st and returned to the states. Following his return he was assigned to the Material Command of the US Army. Stationed in Washington, D.C., he worked to improve new fighter planes. Sixteen months of ironing out bugs was all he could stand. Determined to return to combat, Major Davis requested reassignment to a unit going overseas.

Jack Davis shipped from the United States with the first squadron of A-26's sent to the Pacific Theater. The A-26 Invader was a twin-engine plane that had only one pilot. It entered combat in January, 1945. Major Davis participated in the first A-26 bombing of Kyushu Island, Japan, in early July.

He was not a desk pilot. By the end of the month, Major Davis was part of the 500th Squadron of the 345th Bombardment Group. While the 500th was stationed on Ie Shima (after July 25th), Major Davis was flying the B-25 Mitchell medium attack bomber.

Because Gen. Douglas McArthur was a proponent of low-level bombing, the Mitchell was used to attack Japanese shipping. Two B-25's simultaneously attacks a warship or merchantman vessel. The higher plane strafed the vessel to prevent return fire. The lower B-25 flew just above the water on a bombing run. Its bomb would skip across the ocean's surface into the side of the ship.

Even though the second of the American nuclear bombs exploded over Nagasaki on August 9th, the war continued without letup. On August 12th, B-25's sunk or damaged several small Japanese merchant vessels in the Sea of Japan near Kyushu Island.

Of the 24-plane formation that went out that day, two Mitchells did not return. Major Davis' plane was one of the two. Forty-eight hours later, Japan surrendered.

The VFW plaque in the Davis Field office was presented in 1948. It attests to the high regard citizens reserved for Major Jack Davis. During the ceremonies, he was referred to as a "hero."

Daniel Haston provided research assistance.